Organizer management system using R.F. identification

ABSTRACT

An organizer management system for facilitating the location of an item stored in one of several drawers in one or more drawer organizer cabinets. Each drawer has an LED mounted on a front panel and a circuit having a crystal with a specific resonant frequency. The resonant frequency of the crystal in a given drawer is different from all other crystals in the system. All drawer circuits are coupled in parallel to a computer-controlled r.f. signal generator. To locate a particular item, the user enters a description of the item into a system computer, which contains a list of items in the system and the corresponding frequency for each item. The computer then operates the r.f. generator to generate an r.f. signal of the correct frequency for the specified item. The LED on only the drawer containing that item is activated, so that the user can visually locate the correct drawer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to drawer organizer systems in general, and inparticular to an improved drawer organizer management system using R.F.drawer identification.

Drawer organizer systems are known and are used generally to store smallitems in drawers which are slidably mounted in a cabinet designed forthis purpose. The cabinet is usually fixed to a wall or a supportsurface, such as a work bench. Each drawer typically has a drawer pullmounted on a front panel so that a user can slide the drawer outwardlyfrom the cabinet and gain access to the contents of the drawer. Cabinetsand drawers have been fabricated from both metal and plastic, with somedrawer organizers using metal for both the cabinet and the drawers,others using plastic for both the cabinet and the drawers, and othersusing a metal cabinet and plastic drawers. The plastic materials used inthe past have been either opaque or translucent.

Many types of items can be stored in a drawer organizer. Some examplesare fasteners of several kinds, such as nuts, bolts, washers, sheetmetal screws, and wood screws; grommets of various sizes; O-rings;electrical connectors; and small electronic components, such as diodes,resistors, and capacitors. Drawer organizers are found in homes, workshops and manufacturing facilities and have proven to be useful in awide variety of situations requiring the organized storage of smallitems for future access.

A principal difficulty encountered with the use of drawer organizerslies in the manner of retrieving desired items from the collection ofitems stored in the several drawers in a given cabinet. In particular,retrieving the correct item requires identifying the contents ofindividual drawers until the correct drawer is found. In someapplications, visual inspection through a transparent front drawer panelis the technique relied upon to identify the types of articles containedin that drawer. In other applications, small labels are adhered to thefront panel of the drawers, with each label containing a briefdescription of the articles contained in that drawer. Both techniquesare less than optimal. The visual inspection technique divulges only aminimum of subjective information about the contained articles.Similarly, the label technique is limited by the amount of spaceavailable on the label to describe the contained articles. Depending onthe nature of the contained articles, the label technique cannotadequately distinguish the articles in one drawer from the articles inother drawers. For example, if the contained articles are resistors ofdifferent resistance values and power ratings, it is at best difficultto adequately distinguish among the several choices. The label techniquealso suffers from the disadvantage that the labels must be changedwhenever the kinds of articles contained in a given drawer are changed.Both techniques are relatively inefficient in enabling quickidentification of the correct drawer in applications having largecollections of different types of articles. In general, the larger thenumber of drawers, the slower the access time to the contents of thedesired drawer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a drawer organizer management system which isdevoid of the above-noted limitations and disadvantages, which can beimplemented using any articles suitable for containment in an organizerdrawer, and which greatly facilitates ready access to specific itemscontained in organizer drawers.

In a broadest aspect the invention comprises a drawer organizermanagement using r.f. identification of individual drawers in a cabinet.The system includes a cabinet having a structure including a rear wallfor providing a plurality of drawer locations, the cabinet having aplurality of pairs of external terminals adapted to be coupled to an r.fsignal generator for receiving r.f. signals from the generator, witheach of the external terminal pairs being arranged preferably on therear wall in a position corresponding to a different one of the drawerlocations.

A plurality of drawers are each slidably mounted in a different one ofthe drawer locations between a closed position and an opened position.Each of the plurality of file drawers has a pair of electricallyconductive drawer terminals adjacent the rear thereof and are adapted toengage a corresponding pair of the external terminals, a pair ofelectrical r.f. signal conductors coupled to the drawer terminals, andan r.f. circuit coupled to the pair of r.f. signal conductors. Each ofthe r.f. circuits has a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and avisible indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects anr.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal. The resonantfrequency of each of the crystals is different from the remaining onesof the crystals so that an r.f. signal of a specific frequency appliedto the external input terminals of the cabinet causes only one of theplurality of crystals to resonate and only the visible indicatorassociated to that crystal to be activated.

Each of the drawers has a front panel, and the indicators are located onthe front panel so as to provide a visible indication of a resonantcrystal in the drawer when the drawers are closed. Each of the visibleindicators preferably comprises an LED. Each of the drawers also has arear panel, and the pair of electrically conductive drawer terminals ispreferably mounted on the rear panel. Each of the drawers is furtherprovided with a positive detent mechanism for promoting contact betweenthe electrically conductive drawer terminals and the external terminals.Each of the drawers is also provided with a pair of positive contactelements, such as a pair of springs, for promoting contact between theelectrically conductive drawer terminals and the external terminals

The system is used to locate the drawer containing a desired type ofitem in the following manner. A user enters the identity of a desireditem in the system computer, either via a keyboard or by using a mouseto select an item from a list displayed on the computer monitor. Inresponse, the computer performs a table-lookup from a set of frequencieswhich are uniquely associated to the items stored in the drawers. Oncethe corresponding frequency has been found, the computer instructs ther.f. signal generator to generate r.f. signals of the correct frequency.These r.f. signals are coupled to the individual cabinet drawers, andthe r.f. circuit having the crystal of the correct frequency resonates,thereby illuminating the corresponding visible indicator on the drawerfront panel. The user now knows which drawer contains the desired item.

The invention provides a low cost, effective and convenient techniquefor facilitating the location of specific items contained in a drawerorganizer system. In addition, the invention eliminates, orsubstantially reduces the need for reliance on, the labelling practicecurrently followed in setting up drawer organizer systems. Moreover, theinvention affords a flexibility in arranging drawer organizers hithertounavailable. In particular, the identity of the items in any givendrawer can be easily changed by modifying the description in the systemcomputer. Also, additional drawers can be added to expand the inventoryheld in the system, and existing drawers can be deleted from the systemby changing the information stored in the computer.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of theinvention, reference should be made to the ensuing detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drawer organizer incorporating theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a single drawer and a portion of therear cabinet wall of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the drawer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the drawer organizer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing the r.f. identification components;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating use of the invention to locate aspecific item; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a wireless embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective viewtaken from the left front of a drawer organizer incorporating theinvention. As seen in this Fig., a cabinet generally designated withreference numeral 11 has a plurality of open locations for slidablyhousing a plurality of individual, essentially identical organizerdrawers 12 a-12 h. Each drawer 12 a-12 h has substantially similarphysical dimensions so that any of the drawers 12 a-12 h can beinstalled in any of the drawer locations in cabinet 11. Each drawer 12a-12 h has a drawer pull 13 integrally formed with or attached to afront drawer panel 14 to facilitate opening and closing of the drawer.Each drawer 12 a-12 h has a visible indicator 15 a-15 h mounted on thefront drawer panel 14. Visible indicators 15 a-15 h are preferably lowcost light emitting diodes (LEDs), although other types of visibleindicators, such as a flashing LED, incandescent lamps or liquid crystaldisplays (LCDs), may be used for this purpose.

With reference to FIGS. 1-4, and taking drawer 12 a as representative, adiode 17 is electrically connected across visible indicator 15 a. Oneside of diode 17 and visible indicator 15 a are electrically connectedby means of a first conductor 18 to a first terminal of a crystal 20 apreferably mounted on a rear drawer panel 21. The other sides of diode17 and visible indicator 15 a are electrically connected by means of asecond connector 22 to a ground return terminal 23 preferably located onrear drawer panel 21. Conductors 18 and 22 are routed along side walls25, 26, respectively of drawer 12 a in any suitable fashion. Forexample, side walls 25, 26 may be fabricated from plastic and conductors18 and 22 may be discrete conductors with or without an encapsulatinginsulative covering and adhered to the surface of side walls 25, 26.Alternatively, side walls 25, 26 may be fabricated from plastic andconductors 18 and 22 may be discrete conductors embedded therein. Fordrawers having side walls 25, 26 fabricated from metal, conductors 18and 22 may be discrete conductors with an encapsulating insulativecovering and adhered to the surface of side walls 25, 26. Otherarrangements will occur to those skilled in the art.

The other terminal of crystal 20 a is connected via a conductor 27 to anr.f. input terminal 28 preferably mounted on rear drawer panel 21. Inputterminal 28 is provided with a positive contact element, such as thespring 30 illustrated in FIG. 3, in order to establish a repeatablepositive ohmic contact with an r.f. input contact terminal 32 mounted ona rear cabinet wall 33, shown in partial section in FIG. 3. A similararrangement is made for ground return terminal 23 and a ground returnterminal 34 mounted on rear wall 33 of cabinet 11. Spring 30 make takethe form of a helical spring, as shown, or other forms, such as a flatleaf spring, a double folded leaf spring, or any other equivalentpositive contact mechanism known to those skilled in the art. Bothcontacts 32 and 34 are physically located on rear cabinet wall 33 in aposition which ensures positive engagement with drawer mounted terminals23, 28 when the drawer 12 a is closed. Each drawer 12 a-h is providedwith a pair of terminals 23, 28.

With reference to FIG. 4, rear wall 33 of cabinet 11 is provided with aplurality of pairs of contact terminals 32, 34 corresponding in numberand position to the drawer terminals 23, 28. All r.f. input terminals 32are electrically connected in common to an r.f. input conductor 38.Similarly, all ground terminals 34 are electrically connected in commonto a ground return conductor 39. Conductors 38, 39 are coupled to an r.fsignal generator (not illustrated) located at a convenient locationrelative to cabinet 11. The r.f. signal generator is preferablycontrolled by a computer, such as a personal computer (PC). When r.f.signals are produced by the r.f. signal generator, these signals arecoupled via conductors 38, 39 to the contact terminals on rear wall 33of cabinet 11.

Crystal 20 a is a small, low cost crystal having a specific resonantfrequency which presents a very low impedance path to r.f. signals ofmatching frequency when present on r.f. input terminal 28. When thatspecific matching frequency is present, the visible indicator 15 a onthe front drawer panel 14 of drawer 12 a is illuminated in the mannerdescribed below. Each of the remaining organizer drawers 12 b-h has asimilar crystal 12 b-h. The resonant frequency of each crystal 20 a-h isdifferent from all the other crystals. Consequently, only the visibleindicator 15 a-h on the drawer 12 a-h containing the crystal 20 a-hwhose resonant frequency matches the frequency of any r.f. signalpresent on r.f. input terminal 28 will be illuminated.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing the interconnection between alldrawer circuits in a single cabinet 11. As seen in this Fig., eachdrawer circuit includes the crystal 20, LED visible indicator 15 anddiode 17, with all drawer circuits electrically coupled in parallelacross conductive terminals 38, 39. As noted above, each crystal 20 in agiven drawer circuit has a resonant frequency different from that of thecrystals in the other drawer circuits. All resonant frequencies arepreferably in the r.f. range of the spectrum, and may range in valuefrom about 2 MHz. to about 12 MHz. The frequency separation betweencrystals is a matter of design choice, and good results have beenobtained with crystals in the approximately 5.000 MHz range by using aminimum frequency separation of 0.001 MHz.

When a signal having an r.f. component whose frequency matches theresonant frequency of a crystal 20 of one of the drawers is present onconductor 38, that crystal will resonate and present a low resistance tothe passage r.f. current through that branch of the circuit. The flow ofr.f. current through that branch will cause the corresponding LED 15 tobe activated.

In order to promote positive contact between the drawer contactterminals 23, 28 and the rear cabinet wall contact terminals 32, 34, adetent mechanism is preferably provided for each drawer 12 when in theclosed position. The particular form of detent mechanism is notcritical, and many forms are effective. For example, the detentmechanism may comprise a dimple 41 formed on the upper surface of thedrawer pull 13, which will mechanically engage a confronting forwardwall portion of cabinet 11 when the drawer 12 is pushed shut. Ifdesired, a corresponding recess (not illustrated) may be formed in theconfronting forward wall portion of cabinet 11 to provide a socket fordimple 41. Alternatively, a mechanical latch may be incorporated alongthe side walls or at the rear of drawers 12 a-h and positioned in such amanner to mechanically engage an appropriately-configured catch incabinet 11. Still further, a small magnet may be attached to each drawer12 a-h, and a magnetic member may be attached to, or formed in, cabinet11 in a convenient location so that the drawers will be retained in theclosed position in cabinet 11 by magnetic force. Other equivalentarrangements will occur to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart which illustrates the operation of the inventionto find a single item in one of the drawers 12 a-h. As seen in thisFig., the user enters the name of the desired item into the computer,typically using a keyboard, or selects a desired item from a listdisplayed on the computer monitor by using a mouse. The computerperforms a table look-up of the resonant frequency for that particularitem, turns on the R.F. signal generator, and causes an r.f signal ofthe correct frequency to be generated and transmitted via conductors 38,39 and contact terminals 32, 34, 28 and 23 in parallel to all drawers 12a-h. The drawer circuit having the crystal of that frequency (if presentin any of the drawers) will respond to the r.f. signal by illuminatingthe LED indicator 15 for that circuit. All other drawer circuits willnot respond to the particular frequency, so that the LED indicator 15 ofthe correct drawer will be the only one illuminated.

The r.f. signal generator in the associated computer may comprise asweep frequency generator capable of generating r.f. signals in a sweptmode, beginning with the lowest crystal resonant frequency in theorganizer management system, and ending with the highest crystalresonant frequency in the system. With such a signal generator, theintegrity of the entire collection of drawers can be quickly checked byinstructing the computer to activate the r.f. signal generator in thesweep mode. As the signal frequency is swept over the entire range, alldrawer circuits which are present in the cabinet will resonate at theirrespective frequency and this can be detected at the computer using aconventional r.f. detector circuit. Any missing drawer will not respond,and this also can be detected at the computer using the same circuit.Any drawers detected as missing can be correlated to the draweridentification in the computer by noting the frequency of thenon-responsive drawer circuits.

The system may be initially configured in several different ways. Themost fundamental way is to place a single drawer 12 into a cabinet causethe r.f. signal generator to sweep the range of frequencies, note thefrequency at which the crystal in that drawer resonates, enter thatfrequency number into a list, remove the drawer, insert another drawer,and repeat this process on a serial basis for all drawers required tofill the cabinet. This method works well for a new system with noexisting drawers. A more useful technique is to insert a first drawerinto a cabinet, sweep the r.f. frequency, note the resonant frequency,enter that number into a new list; insert a second into the cabinetwithout removing the first, sweep the frequency, add the resonantfrequency of the new drawer to the list; insert a third drawer into thecabinet, sweep the frequency, add the resonant frequency of the thirddrawer to the list; etc. As each new drawer is inserted into thecabinet, the computer has a running list of frequencies alreadyidentified and, since each crystal frequency is unique, there can be noduplications. An even more sophisticated technique for initializing anorganizer system, and one which is most useful for existing organizersystems having a large number of drawers already in use, proceeds asfollows. With all drawers in place and closed, the r.f. generator isactivated in the sweep mode, and each resonant frequency is detected andentered into a list by the computer. After all frequencies have beendetected and entered, the computer initializes the R.F. generator andcauses it to sweep all entered frequencies. As a given frequency isreached, the generator is locked to that frequency, the drawer LED 15activated, and a human operator manually enters a description of theitems already located in, or to be placed in, the drawer with theactivated LED 15. Once the descriptive information is entered for agiven frequency and drawer, the generator is activated to sweep to thenext frequency in the list, and the generator is locked at thatfrequency until the item information for that drawer is entered into thecomputer. This process continues until all frequencies have beenaccounted for.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the organizer managementsystem implementation of the invention using wireless communicationbetween individual cabinets and the associated computer. As seen in thisFig., cabinet 11 is provided with a transceiver 81 for communicationwith the associated computer. The associated computer is provided with amatching transceiver 82. Operation of the FIG. 7 system is essentiallyidentical to that of the FIG. 1 system, with the exception that the r.f.signals are transmitted to file cabinet 11 using transceivers 81, 82,rather that the hard wired connections of the FIG. 1 embodiment. Inaddition, there may be additional security considerations to thewireless embodiment of FIG. 7 to prevent unauthorized transmission andreception of the r.f. signals.

As will now be apparent, drawer organizer management systemsincorporating the invention provide a number of significant advantagesabsent from the prior art. Firstly, since the invention provides anautomatic visible indication of the drawer containing the desired items,the time to find and retrieve an item is significantly reduced. Inaddition, the integrity of the entire organizer system can be easilychecked on a periodic or ad hoc basis in a relatively short period oftime, and a list of missing drawers can be automatically compiled by thecomputer. Moreover, the use of visible indicators to signal the locationof a specific drawer containing the item sought eliminates the need toseparately identify each item by using specific descriptors attached toeach drawer front panel. Consequently, any unauthorized individualwishing to find a particular drawer containing items of a specific typewould be forced to inspect the contents of each individual drawer orread and interpret the drawer label found on prior art organizerdrawers, which adds a significant barrier to unauthorized removal ofdrawer items. Still further, since the contents of a given drawer areindependent of the drawer identification, the type of item associated toany drawer can be reassigned or renamed by using the computer to effectthe changes. Stated differently, a drawer front panel label containingan item designation is not necessary. Thus, once a complete set ofdrawers is in place, there is no need to add new labels when changingthe drawer contents from one item to another.

Organizer management systems incorporating the invention may also bemodified using the computer to add new drawers, new cabinets withadditional drawers, delete old drawers no longer considered necessary,and to rearrange the grouping of drawers.

Although the above provides a full and complete disclosure of thepreferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications, alternateconstructions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art.For example, while the invention has been described with reference tospecific r.f. frequencies, other frequencies may be employed, dependingon the preferences of the system designer. Moreover, while theindicators 15 have been described as visible indicators, other types ofindicators, such as audible indicators, may be used, if desired. Inaddition, while the invention has been described with reference to asingle organizer cabinet, it is understood that the invention may beimplemented using multiple organizer cabinets positioned at the same ordifferent locations in a home, workshop or manufacturing facility.Further, the invention may be used to manage an organizer system of manycabinets positioned at different physical locations using an internal oran external computer network, if desired. Therefore, the above shouldnot be construed as limiting the invention, which is defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A drawer organizer management system comprising:a cabinet having a structure including a rear wall for providing aplurality of drawer locations, said cabinet having a plurality of pairsof external terminals each arranged in a position corresponding to adifferent one of said drawer locations for receiving r.f. signals from asource; a plurality of drawers each slidably mounted in a different oneof said drawer locations between a closed position and an openedposition, each of said plurality of drawers having a pair ofelectrically conductive drawer terminals adjacent the rear thereof andadapted to engage a corresponding pair of said external terminals, apair of electrical r.f. signal conductors coupled to said drawerterminals, and an r.f. circuit coupled to said pair of r.f. signalconductors and having a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and avisible indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects anr.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonantfrequency of each of said crystals being different from the remainingones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal of a specific frequencyapplied to said external input terminals causes only one of saidplurality of crystals to resonate and only the visible indicatorassociated to said only one of said plurality of crystals to beactivated.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein each of said drawers has afront panel; and wherein said indicators are located on said front panelso as to provide a visible indication of a resonant crystal in thedrawer when the drawers are closed.
 3. The system of claim 1 whereineach of said visible indicators comprises an LED.
 4. The system of claim1 wherein each of said drawers has a rear panel; and wherein said pairof electrically conductive drawer terminals is mounted on said rearpanel.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein each of said drawers is providedwith a positive detent mechanism for promoting contact between saidelectrically conductive drawer terminals and said external terminals. 6.The system of claim 1 wherein each of said drawers is provided with apair of positive contact elements for promoting contact between saidelectrically conductive drawer terminals and said external terminals. 7.The system of claim 6 wherein said pair of positive contact elementseach comprises a spring.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein each of saiddrawers is provided with a positive detent mechanism and a pair ofpositive contact elements for promoting contact between saidelectrically conductive drawer terminals and said external terminals. 9.The system of claim 8 wherein said pair of positive contact elementseach comprises a spring.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein said aplurality of pairs of external terminals are mounted on said rear wallof said cabinet.
 11. A drawer organizer management using r.f.identification of individual drawers in a cabinet, said systemcomprising: a computer; an r.f. signal generator coupled to saidcomputer for generating r.f. signals of different frequencies; a cabinethaving a structure including a rear wall for providing a plurality ofdrawer locations, said cabinet having a plurality of pairs of externalterminals coupled to said r.f. signal generator for receiving r.f.signals from said generator, each of said external terminals beingarranged in a position corresponding to a different one of said drawerlocations; and a plurality of drawers each slidably mounted in adifferent one of said drawer locations between a closed position and anopened position, each of said plurality of drawers having a pair ofelectrically conductive drawer terminals adjacent the rear thereof andadapted to engage a corresponding pair of said external terminals, apair of electrical r.f. signal conductors coupled to said drawerterminals, and an r.f. circuit coupled to said pair of r.f. signalconductors and having a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and avisible indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects anr.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonantfrequency of each of said crystals being different from the remainingones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal of a specific frequencyapplied to said external input terminals causes only one of saidplurality of crystals to resonate and only the visible indicatorassociated to said only one of said plurality of crystals to beactivated.
 12. The system of claim 11 wherein each of said drawers has afront panel; and wherein said indicators are located on said front panelso as to provide a visible indication of a resonant crystal in thedrawer when the drawers are closed.
 13. The system of claim 11 whereineach of said visible indicators comprises an LED.
 14. The system ofclaim 11 wherein each of said drawers has a rear panel; and wherein saidpair of electrically conductive drawer terminals is mounted on said rearpanel.
 15. The system of claim 11 wherein each of said drawers isprovided with a positive detent mechanism for promoting contact betweensaid electrically conductive drawer terminals and said externalterminals.
 16. The system of claim 11 wherein each of said drawers isprovided with a pair of positive contact elements for promoting contactbetween said electrically conductive drawer terminals and said externalterminals.
 17. The system of claim 16 wherein said pair of positivecontact elements each comprises a spring.
 18. The system of claim 11wherein each of said drawers is provided with a positive detentmechanism and a pair of positive contact elements for promoting contactbetween said electrically conductive drawer terminals and said externalterminals.
 19. The system of claim 18 wherein said pair of positivecontact elements each comprises a spring.
 20. The system of claim 11wherein said a plurality of pairs of external terminals are mounted onsaid rear wall of said cabinet.